I wrote this gear/fashion piece for the January issue of Outside on the emerging trend of urban-style jackets that use technical outdoor fabrics (Gore-Tex, Primaloft, merino wool, etc.). I like to refer to it as the Brooklyn-to-Beaver-Creek look. To be honest, I’m surprised that so few companies have moved into the niche. There’s nasty weather in places like New York, Boston, Chicago, and Seattle and you do a lot of walking in the city—but you don’t want to go out looking ready to ski the Middle Teton. I expect to see more companies once thought of as sport- or outdoor-specific like Burton,Merrell, and even bike-freaks Swobo leveraging into the urban style market—especially Burton, who seem to understand how to boost the value of the brand by simultaneously promoting urban sensibility on the hill and snowboard credibility on the street. But Scapegoat, which was recently purchased by Prana, may be the most intriguing, since it positions itself simply as a hip, urban brand that uses performance fabrics, defining itself by a lifestyle rather than activity. You can read the piece at Outside’s web site.
While you are there, you can also take a look at the videos Outside Buyer’s Guide editor Sam Moulton and I filmed at Neptune Mountaineering the day before we gave a presentation on travel writing at the Magazine Conference here in Boulder back in October.